PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Waiting since last Saturday due to COVID-19 protocols upon arriving from Finland, Kasperi Kapanen practiced for the first time with the Pens in Cranberry Monday morning.
Mike Sullivan said it’s his second time on the ice and he will be a game-time decision Tuesday night against Washington.
“I thought he had a good practice,” Sullivan said, noting they had communication with him while away. “It’s never easy trying to jump right into a team practice when we’ve had as many days as we’ve had together. He’s trying to jump on a moving train.”
“I felt a little sluggish, but you expected that being in quarantine for a week,” Kapanen said. “I am happy to be with the guys and hang out and get a good skate. Taking all things into consideration, it was ok.”
The winger worked mostly on Sidney Crosby and Jake Guetzel’s line, but did do a drill with Evgeni Malkin and Jason Zucker.
“A couple of very talented players and they are going to make plays,” Kapanen said of Crosby and Guentzel. “I feel I can bring a little speed to that line and hunt down pucks and get the pucks back to them and kind of be around the net. I‘m looking forward to see what we can do.”
Kapanen was a top penalty killer with Toronto and worked on the Pens top PK unit during practice.
“He’s going to be a big part of the penalty kill,” Sullivan said. “He’s got a ton of speed. He’s got good size. He’s got a long reach. He was a good penalty killer in Toronto. I know he has good penalty kill acumen.”
“Penalty kill is a big part of my game,” Kapanen said, having five short-handed goals in his career. “I try to use my speed and tenacity to put pressure on players. Whenever there is a chance to go on the fore check or the offense, that’s what I’m going to try to do. I’ve been on penalty kill for four years now and I feel like I’m getting better and better. I think I will be a good PK player for us.”
Kapanen was a Pens first round pick in 2014 and traded for this off-season. The 24-year-old had 13 goals and 23 assists in 69 games with Toronto last year. In his first full season in the NHL, Kapanen had 20 goals and 24 assists for the Maple Leafs.
Pens lines
Here were the Pens lines during practice with Evan Rodrigues going from Sidney Crosby’s line to a battle for ice time on the fourth line.
Guentzel-Crosby-Kapanen
Zucker-Malkin-Rust
McCann-Jankowski-Tanev
Lafferty/Rodrigues-Blueger-Sceviour
Mike Sullivan changed up the defensive pairings during the game yesterday splitting Marcus Pettersson and John Marino. Marino skated with Juuso Riikola and Pettersson with Chad Ruhwedel. The defensive pairings rotated for most of Monday’s workout.
McCann working
Without a goal in 28 consecutive games, Pens forward Jared McCann was one of the last on the ice at practice taking slap shot after slap shot while others headed to the locker room.
He hasn’t had a goal, but his third line has been the most consistent through three games, garnering 8 points with Brandon Tanev tied for the goal scoring lead with Sidney Crosby.